WASHINGTON -- The Washington Redskins opened free agency not with the familiar Dan Snyder splash but instead with a few noteworthy ripples, keeping a couple of key players while adding an offensive lineman, a special teams standout and a No.Nicklas Backstrom Capitals Jersey . 2 receiver. No Jairus Byrd or Aqib Talib landing via the teams owner private plane within hours of the official start of the NFLs annual open market. While there still could a blockbuster to come, the brain trust of general manager Bruce Allen and new coach Jay Gruden began by spreading the salary cap money around to plug as many holes as possible after a 3-13 season. Inside linebacker Perry Riley and receiver Santana Moss were re-signed with just hours to go before they were set to become free agents. Receiver Andre Roberts, guard Shawn Lauvao and linebacker Adam Hayward agreed to terms and are expected to sign their deals once theyve completed their physicals, according to people familiar with their deals who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contracts had not yet been signed. Cornerback Corey Graham and defensive end Antonio Smith were scheduled for visits to Redskins Park. Riley was the Redskins leading tackler from last season, and his return gives Washington a measure of stability in the heart of the defence. With longtime captain London Fletcher planning to retire, the Redskins faced the daunting task of replacing both inside linebackers in their 3-4 scheme had Riley signed elsewhere. Rileys deal is worth about $13 million over three years, including approximately $4.25 million in guaranteed money, according to a person familiar with the contract who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Redskins did not publicly release the financial details. A 2010 fourth-round pick who has started 40 consecutive games, Riley became the third Redskins defensive player to re-sign rather than test unrestricted free agency. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall and defensive lineman Chris Baker also have new deals, and outside linebacker Brian Orakpo is all but certain to return after receiving the franchise player tag last week. Gruden also opted to retain defensive co-ordinator Jim Haslett. Also coming back is Moss, who turns 35 in June and signed a one-year deal. He had 42 catches for 452 yards in 2013 as the teams No. 3 receiver and has accepted without complaint his reduced role over the last two seasons. He recently passed 10,000 yards receiving for his career, and 2014 will be his 10th season with the Redskins. While Moss will be back as the No. 3 wideout and Pierre Garcon as No. 1, Roberts is set to fill the No. 2 role being vacated by Joshua Morgan, who is now a free agent. Roberts, who has played four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, had 43 receptions for 471 yards and two touchdowns last year. His best season was 2011, when he had 64 catches for 759 yards and five touchdowns. A person familiar with Roberts deal said it has a base value of $16 million over four years with $8 million guaranteed, including a $4 million signing bonus, and that the deal could be worth up to $17.35 million with incentives. The person said Roberts is scheduled to take his physical Wednesday and then sign his deal. The person spoke to the AP because the terms of the deal had not been announced. Lauvao represents the first move in Grudens plan to upgrade an offensive line in charge of protecting franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III. A third-round draft pick in 2010, he has played four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, mostly at right guard. Chris Chester has been the Redskins right guard for three seasons, and Lauvaos arrival could lead to a shuffling of a unit that allowed 43 sacks last year. Lauvaos deal is worth $17 million over four years, according to ESPN. The Redskins kick and coverage units were among the worst in recent NFL history last year, so Hayward was a natural target after his work on special teams over seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He agreed to a three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal, and he is expected to sign Wednesday. Graham and Smith will have to be courted in person before they agree to a deal, with both set to visit the Redskins practice facility. Graham, who has played the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, could compete with second-year player David Amerson for the starting cornerback position opposite Hall. Smith, who had five of his 41 1/2 career sacks last year with the Houston Texans, would fill another need. While theyve been one of the NFLs most active free agency teams in 15 years under Snyder, the Redskins were quiet the last two seasons because of a $36 million salary cap penalty imposed by the NFL for the way the contracts were restructured during the 2010 uncapped year. Now they have money, but they have lots to do. Even if they sign Graham and Smith, they would still need a pair of starting safeties, a linebacker to replace Fletcher and probably a right tackle. Dennis Maruk Capitals Jersey . Steve has built a solid reputation throughout the years - first as a hockey player, then as an NHL general manager and now as a scout. Marcus Johansson Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year.MADRID, Spain -- Maria Sharapova bounced back from a poor start to defeat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday and win the Madrid Open title. Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last years final, crumbled in the opening set when she held her serve just once. But Haleps serve dipped in the second set, and Sharapova started hitting pinpoint ground strokes that kept the Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both her break points in the set to even the match. Sharapova then pulled away in the deciding set with an early break to follow up her triumph in Stuttgart with a maiden title in Madrid. Since the 2011 French Open, Sharapova has a 47-3 record on clay -- with all three defeats coming to Williams. The top-ranked American was the two-tiime defending champion in Madrid but withdrew with a leg injury on Friday. Lucas Johansen Jersey. "I dont know how I pulled it off," Sharapova said after winning her 32nd career title. "I came close last year, and I didnt have a great first set today, but I knew it wasnt over until the last point was played." Sharapova looked dejected midway through the first set as she hit four double-faults, but she seemed to regain her focus at the start of the second. As Sharapova celebrated the win, Halep slumped in her chair dejectedly despite having reached her first Masters final. Later, top-ranked Rafael Nadal looks to become the first player to defend his title when the three-time champion faces Japans Kei Nishikori in the mens final. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '

While waiting with anxious anticipation to see if the Blue Jays pull off any deals between now and the August 31 waiver deal deadline, I decided to look back and see just how many swaps they have pulled off during the "Dog Days" month and how fruitful the deals have been. Justin Peters Coyotes Jersey . So far, a week into the fifth month of their 38th season, I can tell you the Blue Jays have only made 25 deals during August. There are 11 franchises of the other 29 who have never pulled off a trade in August including the Tigers, Cubs, Marlins, Astros, Angels, Twins, Giants, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Montreal/ Washington. Some of deals were straight cash transactions, such as when the Jays sold Pedro Hernandez to the Yankees years ago, the only August deal between the two teams. Most were inconsequential shuffling of body swaps, but there were some keepers. On August 31, 1987, the Blue Jays picked up lefty Mike Flanagan from Baltimore for a pair of relievers, Jose Mesa and Oswaldo Peraza. Flanagan gave the Blue Jays a big boost down the stretch in their race with the Tigers for first place and although the Jays came up short, Flanagan was an invaluable leader and pitched one of the greatest games Ive ever seen on the second-last day of the season at old Tiger Stadium against Jack Morris. Both men lasted into extra innings. Neither figured in the decision in a game the Tigers ultimately won. Earlier, that same month in 1987, on August 9 to be exact, the Jays picked up knuckleballer and future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro from Cleveland for Darryl Landrum and Don Gordon. Unfortunately for the Jays, "Knucksie" had little or nothing left and after a handful of starts, they released him, likely increasing the urgency for the Jays to acquire Flanagan. Beyond the Flanagan deal, the Blue Jays have made three trades that stand out above the rest. Two figured in their first World Series victory in 1992, and one brought them one of the greatest power hitters in franchise history. On August 9, 1991, the Blue Jays made their one and only August deal with Milwaukee, sending youngsters William Suero and Bob Wishnevski to the Brewers for veteran outfielder Candy Maldonado. The "Candy Man" was in left field in Atlanta in 1992 the night the Blue Jays clinched their first World Series title and he was a great presence in the clubhouse. But even bigger than that deal was the one Pat Gillick pulled off on August 27, 1992, just four days before the post-season rosters had to be set. The Blue Jays sent future star and now-Hall of Famer candidate Jeff Kent along with outfielder Ryan Thompson to the Mets for right-hander David Cone. It was the kind of trade that Oakland just pulled off to get lefty Jon Lester from Boston, and Detroit made in landing David Price from Tampa Bay. Though he turned out to be a rental after Cone signed with Kansas City as a free agent in the off-season, he nevertheless was the man who pushed the Jays over the top. Veteran reliever Dan Plesac, then with the Brewers, told me that once that trade was made Milwaukee players knew the race in the A.L. East was over. What appeared to be a run of the mill deal on August 21, 2008 turned out to be the best of J.P. Ricciardis tenure as Blue Jays GM and one of the greatest swaps in franchise history. The Blue Jays sent catcher Robinson Diaz to Pittsburgh for a journeyman outfielder by the name of Jose Bautista. Incidentally, the team the Blue Jays have dealt with the most frequently in August is Texas. Three of those 25 trades have been with the Rangers. No blockbusters, but they did ship Maldonado to the Rangers in a conditional deal on August 31, 1995. They also picked up veteran DH Cliff Johnson from Texas on August 28, 1985 to help the stretch run on the way to their first division title. To land "Heathcliff" they gave up three youngsters in Greg Ferlenda, Matt Williams and Jeff Mays. Going over the 25 trades, its difficult to name even one that the Jays got burned on, and if you throw in the Johnson swap, there are four deals that any GM would hang his hat on. Not just saying this because I picked them to be a Wild Card team this year, but as tightly as Kansas City, the Blue Jays, the Yankees and Mariners are bunched, the Royals have to be considered the favourites right now for that second Wild Card slot. Right now they are a half-game up on the other three clubs. But consider this. Of the Royals remaining 49 games, 27 are at home at pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium. On top of that, 32 of those remaining 49 are against teams with records below .500. They have solid starting pitching, a great bullpen and as John Gibbons conceded the other night, alongside Baltimore are probably the best defensive outfit in the American League. If thats not enough, the Royals are off to a 5-1 start this month. The four-game set at home this weekend will be an acid test for Ned Yosts crew though. K.C. could certainly use another bat before the deadline, but even without it, they still look like the strongest team with the most favourable schedule. Louis Domingue Jersey . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. Max Domi Coyotes Jersey .C. -- Gleason Fournier scored the shootout winner as the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 Friday in American Hockey League action.VOULIAGMENI, Greece -- Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou kept his place in the countrys World Cup squad on Monday despite three forwards being dropped from the preliminary lineup. Greece coach Fernando Santos announced the final 23-man squad and said he believes the 26-year-old Mitroglou will be ready for Brazil despite his lack of game time since moving to England at the start of the year to join now-relegated Premier League side Fulham. "I wasnt 100 per cent about some of the call-ups until a few weeks ago. Mitroglou was one of those cases," Santos said. "We watched the last 30 minutes of his game, and we paid a lot of attention -- and we judged him to be ready ... were looking at playing ability and physical condition: People who are safe choices." Mitroglou joined teammates later Monday at the national teams opening training session at seaside facility near Athens. At the World Cup, Greece will face Colombia, Japan and Ivory Coast in Group C. Despite Greeces fast opponents, the Portuguese coach opted for more experienced players, including 2004 European Championship winners Costas Katsouranis and captain Giorgos Karagounis. Three strikers were dropped from preliminary lineup: Dimitris Papadopoulos of Atromitos, Stefanos Athanasiadis of PAOK and Nikolaos Karelis of Panathinaikos. Defenders Kyyriakos Papadopoulos and Dimitris Siovas also failed to make the squad due to persistent injury troubles. Jakob Chychrun Coyotes Jersey. "I was sorry not to include players that helped us in qualification, like (midfielder) Sotiris Ninis and Siovas," Santos said. "But the national team is above players and above the coach. We must use the safest choices." Santos said he had identified "strengths and weaknesses" in all three group opponents, but did not elaborate. Greece will play friendlies against Portugal, Nigeria and Bolivia before travelling to Brazil. ------ Squad: Goalkeepers: Orestis Karnezis (Granada), Panagiotis Glykos (PAOK), Stefanos Kapino (Panathinaikos) Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Roma), Loukas Vyntra (Levante), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), Costas Manolas (Olympiakos), Vangelis Moras (Hellas Verona), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Giorgos Tzavellas (PAOK), Yiannis Maniatis (Olympiakos) Midfielders: Alexandros Tziolis (Kayserispor), Costas Katsouranis (PAOK), Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham), Andreas Samaris (Olympiakos), Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Torino), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna), Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna) Forwards: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham), Fanis Gekas (Konyaspor), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK) Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '

null Brandon Sutter Canucks Jersey . Carcillo was a little of both for New York in Game 3. Derek Stepan, Martin St. Louis, Dan Girardi and Carcillo scored goals, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. Henrik Sedin Canucks Jersey . -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see.BUFFALO, N. Ryan Miller Canucks Jersey .Y. -- Ryan Miller was more concerned about overcoming jetlag than thinking about providing a memorable send-off in what could potentially have been one of the goalies final games for the Buffalo Sabres. A little over a day after returning to Buffalo from the Sochi Games, and with his future uncertain, Miller stopped 36 shots and even contributed to the offence with two assists in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night in the NHLs first game after its Olympic break. "I wasnt really getting to far ahead or thinking about that kind of stuff," Miller said when asked about his future. Before the game, general manager Tim Murray acknowledged hes shopping the goalie with the intention of dealing him before the leagues trade deadline on March 5. Miller is on the block because hes in the final year of his contract, and Murray is unsure whether the 33-year-old is prepared to re-sign with a team thats rebuilding through youth. "Im trying to take the approach to take things as they come right now and be positive and play hockey," Miller added. "Its a lot of fun to play and win. Im going to try to enjoy these kind of moments where you can help make a difference." Despite feeling "a little bit goofy" from jetlag, Miller was certainly the difference by stopping the first 20 shots he faced in a game in which Buffalo was outshot 38-18. "It just shows what kind of goaltender we have in Ryan Miller," interim coach Ted Nolan said. "I dont think we had too much reason to say we were the better team tonight outside of Ryan Miller stealing that game for us." Christian Ehrhoff scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 44 seconds left. Tyler Ennis also scored for Buffalo, which snapped a four-game skid, and won for only the third time in its past 14 games (3-8-3). Both of Millers assists came on Ehrhoffs goals. That made him the NHLs first goalie to have that many since Vancouvers Cory Schneider had two in a 5-4 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 11, 2010, according to STATS. Ehrhoffs decisive goal came after he circled the Hurricanes net, and then stopped and spun in the right circle, where he attempted to feed the puck through the crease to teammate Marcus Foligno. The puck instead glanced off the stick of Hurricanes defenceman Justin Faulk and floated inn over goaltender Cam Ward. Todd Bertuzzi Canucks Jersey. Eric Staal and Alexander Semin scored for the Hurricanes, who lost to Buffalo in regulation for the first time in seven meetings, dating to a 1-0 loss at Carolina on Nov. 18. 2011. The teams got an early start coming out of the NHLs two-week break. The game was originally scheduled to be played Jan. 9, but postponed after a blizzard hit Buffalo. Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller found little fault in his teams performance. "Miller was the first star, and theres your answer right there," Muller said. "That was a complete, solid game on our part for 60 minutes. We did everything we had to do." Everything, of course, except score more than Buffalo. Miller put on a show. Early into the second period, he got a piece of Faulks snap shot from the left circle, and then recovered in time to turn aside Manny Malhotras attempt to convert the rebound in front. Miller had Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner looking up to the rafters and shaking his head midway through the second period. That reaction came after Skinner got off a hard shot from the right circle on a partial break, only to have Miller snag it with his glove. "We had a lot of chances," said Staal, who beat Miller through the legs on a 2-on-1 break. "When its a close game, you have to be able to bury them. And tonight, Miller made a lot of good saves." Following the game, Miller spent time surrounded by fans at the penalty box, where he took part in a television interview. He then got a cheer from the few remaining fans inside the arena as he headed to the locker room about 10 minutes after the game ended. Whatever might happen over the next week, Miller has enjoyed his 12 years in Buffalo. "I love this area. The fans have always been great," he said. "If it happens that Im traded, Im preparing to play somewhere else. It all just comes to its going to be hockey." NOTES: Sabres LW Matt Moulson (upper body) returned to the Sabres lineup after missing four games before the break. Also back was Buffalo C Cody McCormick, who missed 24 games with an upper-body injury. ... Buffalo also snapped an eight game home losing streak, during which it had gone 0-5-3. ... As a result of the rescheduled game, the Hurricanes opened a five-game road trip, their longest of the season. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '